Vietnam veterans Reuben Castillo (pictured left) and Antonio Espinosa (pictured right) reconnect at the Anthony Community Center precinct. Espinosa met Castillo's brother in 1971 in Saigon on their way back home from military service. Castillo says he was "in tears" when Espionosa surprised him with photos of himself and his brother at the polling place. Josh Yeager

Visalia Unified School District board member John Crabtree (Area 4) talks with Measure A supporters in Visalia while waiting for election results during the 2018 Midterms on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Ron Holman,

Dennis Mederos visits with Connie Conway, left, and his granddaughter Emily Semoes, 19 months, and other supporters at Sal's in Tulare while waiting for election results during the 2018 Midterms on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Ron Holman,

Reprints of published images may be purchased. For more information email the Photography Department at VTD-Photo@gannett.com or visit the office during normal business hours. Copy and paste to subscribe: https://offers.visaliatimesdelta.com/vnspecialoffer?gps-source=CPNEWS&utm_medium=onsite&utm_source=news&utm_campaign=NEWSROOM&utm_content=RonHolman Visalia Times-Delta

UPDATE 9 a.m., Wednesday: Overnight, Andrew Janz lessened the gap between himself and Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) for the District 22 seat. Still, it wasn't enough.

As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, Nunes was leading the race by 11 percentage points, with 55.8 percent to Janz's 44.2 percent.

UPDATE 10:35 p.m.: Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), apparently cruising to an election victory Tuesday over Andrew Janz, was defiant in the face of Republicans losing control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

"They [Democrats] are going to resist, they are going to continue to obstruct," he said. "But at the end of the day that doesn't do anything for America and it sure doesn't do anything for the Valley."

The GOP loss means that the Tulare-native will no longer be the Chair of the National Intelligence Committee.

Nunes, though, pointed out the GOP extended its majority in the U.S. Senate by at least one seat and perhaps as many as four.

Original story: In the heart of California's San Joaquin Valley, Republican Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) cruised to victory for the past 16 years in his staunchly conservative Congressional district.

But things changed in 2016 when Donald Trump became president and a series of controversies — most prominently Nunes' handling of the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and the Tulare native's spending campaign funds on things such as Boston Celtic tickets — launched the congressman into the national spotlight.

That spotlight eventually led the eight-term incumbent and Chair of the National Intelligence Committee to face his first real test in a general election from well-funded Democratic upstart Andrew Janz, a Fresno County assistant district attorney.

Their race has emerged as one of the most hotly contested and expensive Congressional races in the country. Combined, they've raised more than $11 million this election season.

As of the 10 p.m. Tuesday, Nunes led Janz by nearly 16 percentage points — 57.9 for Nunes and 42.1 for Janz.

Nunes holds tight to District 22

St. John’s Hall buzzed Tuesday night where Nunes supporters crowded around televisions and cell phones as they waited for election results.

They joined a large crowd of people who back David Valadao and state Senator Andy Vidak.

Nunes feels the race proves voters support his leadership and what he's done for the district.

While the first batch of results included more than 50,000 absentee ballots, he decided to wait until all the results were in to make a formal statement to the press.

Supporters didn't waste any time backing their candidate.

Margaret Parreira piled Nunes 2018 shirts into her arms. Although the Congressman isn’t in her district, she knows Nunes and voted for Valadao, who held a handsome lead over TJ Cox.

Parreira immigrated to the U.S. in 1970 from the Azores and became a citizen in 1976. She takes her civic duties seriously and wore her American flag necklace to Tuesday’s party in Hanford.

“I feel like they relate to us because they’ve gone through the same thing,” Parreira said.

Parreira and her husband run a 2,000-cow dairy in Kings County.

“We started from scratch,” she said.

Parreria said she feels both Nunes and Valadao represent Valley interests.

Since his race for Congress in 2002, Nunes has never polled lower than 63 percent of the vote. In 2010, he ran unopposed. In his most recent election, he coasted to victory with 67 percent of the vote.

Support for Nunes remained strong despite the controversies that drew the attention of national media.

Nunes grew up on a family farm in Tulare County that was operated by his family for three generations.

His first election was to the Board of Trustees of the College of Sequoias, where he served two terms on the board.

In 1998, Nunes felt he was ready for the big leagues and ran for Congress but ultimately lost. He waited four years to make another run for Congress while serving on the College of the Sequoias Board of Trustees.

For the 2002 run, he had the backing of Bill Thomas, the powerful Kern County Republican Congressman and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

In November 2002, Nunes went on to easily win the general election with 70 percent of the vote.

In 2001, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as California State Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. A year later, he was elected to the House of Representatives in California's 21st congressional district, which later was redrawn to include more Tulare County voters.

Nunes currently serves as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, which oversees 17 agencies and departments that make up the U.S Intelligence Community.

His role may change after Tuesday's election reversed control of the House, giving Democrats a majority.

Janz first run is a memorable one

In just 19 months, Janz emerged from political obscurity to capture the interest of pundits nationwide as an early representative of the so-called "Blue Wave," would result in Democrats retaking the House, if not the Senate.

"We made Nunes pay $10 million to defend a supposedly safe district," said Heather Grevin, Janz's campaign manager. "This is officially the most expensive Congressional campaign in the country. We are so proud of the campaign we ran and the grassroots support Janz has received, which is unprecedented for the Central Valley."

Janz, a Visalia native and son of immigrants, has challenged Nunes, a Tulare son of farmers, on a number of issues, ranging from health care and immigration reform to water issues.

Janz's moderate platform earned him support from across the aisle. His message has resonated in particular with younger voters who historically don't turn out in large numbers in the reliably Republican district.

"Janz's message has resonated with younger voters because he actually engages with citizens and issues that matter to Valley constituents, unlike Devin Nunes," said Alizandro Barraz, a Janz intern. "He’s tilled the soil for future progressive candidates in the Valley."

Janz has also had success luring moderate Republicans who have become disenchanted with Nunes' leadership.

Janz had to rely heavily on motivating both groups in his uphill battle to unseat a Republican establishment darling in a district Nunes has owned for 16 years.

FiveThirtyEight, Real Clear Politics and other political forecasting sites suggested the odds were stacked too high in Nunes' favor. President Donald Trump trounced Hillary Clinton in the district by more than 10 points in 2016.